SWINE.-NO. 2 . 
57 
SWINE.—No. 2. 
Before we proceed to give an account of the dif¬ 
ferent breeds of swine (other than the Chinese), 
that have been imported into the United States from 
time to time, and which have proved of the greatest 
benefit to our country, it may be proper to describe 
the originals, which were probably used in Europe 
in crossing with the Chinese, to 
produce those breeds. These 
were undoubtedly the wild hog, 
fig. 14, and the old English hog, 
fig. 15, and other cognate breeds. 
All these crosses, properly speak¬ 
ing, the breeding of which we 
have had an opportunity of 
watching attentively, will occa¬ 
sionally cast a pig showing more 
or less traits of the wild hog, 
or the old English, or some allied 
breed, which is a sufficient 
proof, to our mind, that they 
were made in the way of which 
we speak. 
When we were in England, 
we saw several specimens of the 
wild hog, at the magnificent Zoo¬ 
logical Gardens in Regent’s 
Park, and other places, and took 
notes of their characteristics. The 
Asiatic specimens were about 30 
inches high at the shoulder; the 
head and snout thin, straight, 
and rather long, than otherwise, 
the jaws armed with long, 
formidable tusks ; eyes large, 
fine, and expressive of mild¬ 
ness, owing doubtless to their 
kind treatment in confine¬ 
ment ; ears short and erect; 
neck thick, muscular, and of 
medium length; chest thin, 
though of good depth ; shoul¬ 
ders full, with a half shield of 
thick folding skin over them; 
barrel of medium length, 
breadth, and depth ; rump 
steep: hams well turned in to¬ 
wards the body ; thin behind 
and not very well let down in 
the twist; legs and feet fine and 
of moderate length; tail short; 
hair thin, short, stiff, and 
coarse, with thick, long strong 
bristles;. color of the snout, 
ears, around the eyes, the tail 
and legs, dark brown ; color 
of the hair grey, something 
like that of the American 
wolf, though darker, with the 
ends of the bristles slightly 
tawny. The boar in fair 
store condition, we judged would then weigh 
300 lbs. alive. The female closely resembled the 
male, though smaller, finer, and with fewer bris¬ 
tles. 
The Afri can wild hogs were much like the Asiatic, 
with the exception of some white under the throat 
mnd belly. The legs and snout were shorter, the 
tail long and bushy, with a white tuft at the end. 
They had a slight general resemblance to the 
Siamese. 
We are of opinion that Youatt’s description of 
the wild boar was written after an inspection of the 
hunting scenes, which adorn the picture galleries of 
English noblemen. In these he is represented as a 
The Wild Boar.—Fig. 14. 
The 
euLtr pit t- cihoH. 
Old English Hog.—Fig. 15. 
savage monster, chased and attacked by packs of 
large, fierce hounds, and huntsmen well armed 
on horseback. He says “the wild boar is gene¬ 
rally of a dark brown or iron grey color, inclining 
to black, and diversified with black spots or streaks. 
The body is covered with coarse hairs, intermixed 
with a downy wool; these hairs become bristles as 
